Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
Wednesday March 4. 2018 :
Supporting act to Dermot Kennedy on Wednesday night at Oxford Art Factory was New Zealand’s Robinson, who has just signed a deal with Sony Music. She is just the cutest little thing and her performance had a real precious innocence to it. She has an angelic sort of Halsey vibe and her voice and lyrics are so dreamy. She was a lot of fun to see live and seemed to be having a blast on stage.
There is no doubt that Dermot Kennedy is about to blow up and take the world by storm. Hailing from Dublin, Ireland, his rustic folk style along with his emotive and poetic lyrics, act as a wonderful addition to his highly impressive vocals. Playing his first ever Australian show in Sydney, the lucky 500 spectators were in for a real treat.
Kennedy introduced each song with a little explanation of its significance to him or about the situation in which caused him to write it. He came across incredibly genuine and this little act helped cement that. I think it’s always great when an artist introduces each song like this, as opposed to just singing one after the other without any crowd interaction.
Starting the show with “An evening I will not forget“, the dynamic range in his vocals were some of the best that I’ve heard in person and as the night went on, you could tell that there was no difference between hearing him play live and listening to his songs digitally. His vocals were so powerful and drew silence from the crowd as they watched on in admiration. Never have I been to a show where one man has the power to control the room in this way. As he played, all you could hear was his voice and the instruments. The crowd sang along when needed but for the most part, it seemed as if everyone was mesmerised throughout the night and happy to be in the moment and admire his talent.
Playing brand new songs, or songs without even a title yet, helped make the night feel really personal and intimate. At one point, it almost looked like Kennedy had tears in his eyes, grateful to have them be so well received by his audience.
The crowd erupted when he sung the intro to ‘Moments Passed’ and ‘Young and Free’; songs that showed off his throatry roar and you could tell the lyrics to these and every song were highly personal and soulful. When it came time to play ‘After Rain’, Kennedy asked the whole room to sing the lyrics, “You won’t go lonely“. This was a really nice moment and helped bring everyone together.
For the entire show, Kennedy came across as being highly considerate and grateful to be in the position that he is now in. With new songs to be released in the very near future, I can’t wait to hear what he is bringing out and I’m so excited for his future music career.
Reviewer + Photographer : Jessica Ward
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